U.S.-Israeli bias complicates peace

The U.S. is not some “helpless uninvolved party” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but an active supporter of Israel’s brutal subjection of the Palestinians, and we can’t dismiss our “involvement in it by refusing to take sides,” says Glenn Greenwald in the Guardian.

5 Responses

Thanks for the link to this excellent Glenn Greenwald article that lays out the unconditional financial, diplomatic and political support for Israeli occupation which fuels this continuing occupation and the resulting conflicts.

Within his article is a link to an even more helpful perspective by columnist Seumas Milne, published in The Guardian, Tuesday 20 November 2012.

It’s Palestinians who have the right to defend themselves
“The US and Britain stand behind Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. Justice requires a change in the balance of forces on the ground.”

Having a chance to read these alternative perspectives that we can’t seem to find very often in US media helps US citizens to form a more accurate picture about what’s necessary to create and maintain a just and stable situation in Palestine and in Israael.

The problem is that so many people on both sides of the debate get so emotional and fired up, whether it’s over their beliefs about religion, terrorism, social justice, etc. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that the status quo is unacceptable. There’s a cease fire now, but eventually both sides will start shooting at one another whether in a week or in a couple of years. As long as there is an occupation there will be fighting, whether provoked by the occupied or the occupiers. This is also what happens when you have right-wing governments on both sides – Hamas with a professed desire to see the destruction of Israel, and Likud which views Palestinians as sub-human obstacles to its goal of seizing more land for people of their faith alone. Further proof that religion has stunted the ability of both sides to work towards a rational, sustainable solution.

I don’t like that the US has taken sides in this issue. It’s really about religion and religion inspired genocide. Our involvement is dangerous and does not reflect the will of the american people; we do not support genocide and we do support religious freedom.

Oh those poor Gaza residents – they have to put up with weapons and stuff like that in their residential areas. Of course the UN ignores this illegal activity. So the terrorists who are harming them continue to shoot rockets and invite their enemies to dare go after them. Guess we are lucky here in the US that we have friendly neighbors like Mexico and Canada. Of course we have border crossing checks, but we are all good neighbors. Too bad the terrorists get away with their crimes and don’t know anything about being good neighbors.